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Creativity
drives innovation and entrepreneurship. It's the essential skill
that leads to new and more efficient solutions to old problems.
In theory, creativity is widely praised and desired. But, in
reality, creative solutions are often met with pushback,
sometimes even open hostility.

Why? A creative idea is usually a novel one, which means it's
inherently more risky than the tried-and-true alternative.
(People say they value creativity, but what they really
celebrate are the successful results after the fact ). "Being
creative is going to be associated with a lot of failure," says
Dr. Lynne Vincent, co-author of 'Outside Advantage: Can Social
Rejection Fuel Creative Thought?,' published in the Journal
of Experimental Psychology. "You have to have the confidence
to persevere and continue on past the hurdles and barriers."

Start by breaking free of social expectation:
Social norms are ingrained in most of us, but to approach a topic
in a fresh and innovative way, we often need to break
conventional rules. "Steve Jobs was especially well known for
this," Vincent says. In his biography of Jobs, Walter Isaacson
noted that Jobs acted like the rules didn't apply to him. He'd
find loopholes in the law and exploit them (like parking his
unlicensed car in a handicap spot).

Violations don't have to be this blatant, but if you get in the
mindset of looking for ways to sidestep what's expected, it can
help you come up with innovative solutions down the line.

Develop a sense of independent identity:
Developing a strong sense of independent self-concept is, Vincent
says, highly correlated with creative thinking. "In
organizations, it's very easy to identify with the company to the
point where you identify as an employee first, instead of an
individual who happens to work at said company."

This group mindset can cause you to accept company policy and
practices as fact. "If you don't challenge the available
information, how can you find creative, new solutions to any
given problem?" she asks. An independent identity is stronger in
some us than it is in other but it can be learned, Vincent says.
By actively focusing on qualities specific to yourself instead of
qualities that connect you to those around you, you can prime
yourself to be a more independent thinker.

Use alienation to your advantage: If you
break conventions (even harmless ones), you have to be prepared
for the negative social backlash.

Instead of focusing on terrible being excluded makes you feel,
use it as a tool - brief periods of social isolation can liberate
you from traditional and predictable expectations that working as
a group reinforces, says Vincent.

Find your champions: More often than not, the
safe solution will be the more popular solution, so Vincent
recommends finding people in your life who respond to, and
encourage, creative thinking. This may take time, but it's
important to find your champions. "It allows you to go from being
that lone nut to having a support network who can help you hone
your ideas, initiate them and apply them," she says.

But don't get ahead of yourself: To break the
rules, you first need to understand why they're there. "Most
people aren't going to create a creative rocket if they don't
know anything about rocket engines," Vincent says. "You have to
have that foundation first."

At the end of the day, creativity is directly tied to
nonconformity - "You can't be overwhelmingly influenced by social
expectation," Vincent says.